The Scent of 333

Chapter 333

Caleb was a little surprised when he saw Celeste. He called gut, “Ms. Rodriguez?”

Celeste nodded. “Hello, Mr. Jennings.”

Caleb smiled, glancing at her. “Are you stationed here for work now?”

She shook her head. “No, my mentor asked me to come assist with something”

That made him pause.

Very few people had the authority to bring in outside personnel.

Then, Caleb remembered her close relationship with Matthias and how the two weren’t romantically involved.

It clicked “Your mentor… is Mr. Newman?”

“Yeah,” Celeste answered with a slight nod.

So, she was really one of Zachary’s students, just like Matthias,

He hadn’t even thought to connect those dots until now.

However, if she were Zachary’s student, everything suddenly made a lot of sense.

Like why Matthias had gone out of his way at the banquet to credit her to YodaVision’s recent breakthrough, or why his father had paid such close attention to her. It wasn’t just at his grandfather’s art exhibition but also at the forum Jorge attended.

His father must have known her background all along

Still, being one of Zachary’s students alone wouldn’t have earned that level of interest.

Unless-

Unless those two headline–making projects from YodaVision were hers.

That possibility hit Caleb all at once.

He stared at Celeste, momentarily speechless.

Celeste was quiet and composed, and she never sought attention. He had never guessed someone so unassuming and young could have accomplished so much.

They found a spot in the cafeteria and sat down.

“How long are you staying on base this time?” Caleb asked.

“I’m not sure. It will depend on my mentor.”

Celeste paused and then added, “Feels like it’s been months since I saw you outside of work. Is training keeping you that busy?”

Caleb nodded slightly. “Yeah, pilots don’t exactly get generous vacation time.”

He didn’t have much of a lunch break either. After a brief conversation, he excused himself and headed off to deal with other duties.

He saw her again two days later in an Al–human combat drill.

+25 BONUS

Chapter 333

It was a live simulation pitting human pilots against Al–controlled jets.

Once the data was collected, Celeste and the researchers immediately got to work, tweaking algorithms and diving into another round of analysis based on combat dynamics.

When Caleb walked into her department, he spotted her among the flurry of focused researchers.

She didn’t notice him right away.

When she finally looked up, she gave a polite nod and then returned to her screen without missing a beat.

Celeste remained on base for nearly ten days before heading back.

She left the base in the dead of night and arrived home just as the sun was rising

When she turned her phone back on, nearly 20 missed calls lit up the screen.

Kieran, Beck, Jordyn, and even Trevor had tried to reach her

She could pretty much guess why Jordyn and Trevor had called.

Kieran had called first and the most.

Hence, she dialed him back first.

Kieran picked up almost immediately. “You’re finally done?”

“Yes,” Celeste replied. “Was something wrong? Did it get resolved?”

“There was, but everything’s fine now.”

Ten days ago, he had shown up at the theater and didn’t see her. Her phone kept going straight to voicemail, and

when she didn’t show up at work on Monday, he thought something serious had happened.

He ended up going to Matthias and found out she had a family matter to deal with

Now that he knew she was all alright, he could finally relax.

Chapter 334

+25 BONUS

Chapter 334